21–30 of 37 posts
Best as I can tell, it comes down to your temperament. Some people love to bill the hour and work on new things without having ultimate responsibility (or upside / downside) in operating the thing. What gets you up in the morning?
My agency does both, that's a false dichotomy.
Best as I can tell, it comes down to your temperament. Some people love to bill the hour and work on new things without having ultimate responsibility (or upside / downside) in operating the thing. What gets you up in the morning?
My agency does both, that's a false dichotomy.
So, it's becoming clearer that I should not start web design. But this discussion is not over. I want to understand the creative business more, so feel free to share your thoughts on parts of the creative world which are high in demand but low in feeling that demand.
As someone who has owned (and technically still does, but it's a side gig for sure) a web design company: Let me say this: Your sentiment of "95% are terrible at it" is simultaneously probably true and completely pointless. Here's what I've discovered. Let's assume that you really ARE making the Rolex of websites, deep down you KNOW you're the best of the best. Too bad. It doesn't matter, because the general public c…
> After revenue becomes great, I will automate
Once again, don't do it.
Only start an agency if years from now you will still personally sweat every small detail, you will still enjoy working 1:1 with clients who won't always get what you're proposing and will annoy you to no end yet you put up with it because you're a professional, you understand the value of your expertise, and you believe in the future success of their business more than they do.
Don't do this unless you're a craftsperson who cares more about the craft than the money. Because if you're really just in it for money, prestige, to boost your ego, or whatever… (a) you will very likely fail, and (b) I will be more than glad to compete with you.
As someone who has owned (and technically still does, but it's a side gig for sure) a web design company: Let me say this: Your sentiment of "95% are terrible at it" is simultaneously probably true and completely pointless. Here's what I've discovered. Let's assume that you really ARE making the Rolex of websites, deep down you KNOW you're the best of the best. Too bad. It doesn't matter, because the general public c…
what do you mean exactly by the general public not being able to tell the difference?
Websites are (still) such a subjective, sometimes personal, sometimes tied-in-red-tape etc type of thing such that "what you, or even the vast majority of web designers, would recognize as very good" and "what the customer will be satisfied with and ready to pay for" don't line up as nearly as often as you think it would.
If you are good at making web sites you are much better off having the general public as customers and inserting yourself as a layer between business and customer.
Personally, I sell a tool[0] that agencies use to make their offering more appealing to customers and differentiate themselves from those just providing the "we build a website" service, and I currently see growing interest. The agency space is still growing, but you have to adapt.
Thiel also said : "competition is for losers". He was right
If this agency can get $50k a year in the worst case, that might not be bad because the currency conversion rate is favorable, and it provides me with some funds for the future. While I don't disagree with Thiel, I don't have the money to have zero revenue in my pocket for several years. However, I'm not naive enough to just sell a website. I will sell something creative, and the website will be a key part of that. Or maybe I will brand a business—who knows? This is my last year of college, so why not do something crazy instead of nothing?